Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) Trading Down 0.3% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) fell 0.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $26.24 and last traded at $26.33. 8,429,549 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 30,452,807 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PFE. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Pfizer from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Pfizer from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Friday, October 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Pfizer has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

Pfizer Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $26.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.06 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.42. Pfizer had a net margin of 7.07% and a return on equity of 16.28%. The company had revenue of $17.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.17) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 31.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th will be given a $0.43 dividend. This represents a $1.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from Pfizer’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Pfizer’s payout ratio is currently 227.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Scott Gottlieb purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.24 per share, for a total transaction of $28,240.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,400. The trade was a 11.11 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pfizer

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PFE. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 2.5% in the third quarter. Wells Trecaso Financial Group LLC now owns 14,361 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Pfizer by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. now owns 49,216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,424,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. lifted its position in Pfizer by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 42,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. PSI Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. PSI Advisors LLC now owns 27,823 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $738,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pfizer by 1.5% in the second quarter. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. now owns 26,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $742,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.36% of the company’s stock.

Pfizer Company Profile

Pfizer Inc discovers, develops, manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells biopharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company offers medicines and vaccines in various therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular metabolic, migraine, and women's health under the Eliquis, Nurtec ODT/Vydura, Zavzpret, and the Premarin family brands; infectious diseases with unmet medical needs under the Prevnar family, Abrysvo, Nimenrix, FSME/IMMUN-TicoVac, and Trumenba brands; and COVID-19 prevention and treatment, and potential future mRNA and antiviral products under the Comirnaty and Paxlovid brands.